The presidency on Monday denied news reports that President Muhammadu Buhari was seeking emergency powers from the National Assembly in order to tackle the lingering economic crisis in the country.

In a statement by the Special Assistant to the Vice President on Public Affairs, Laolu Akande, said an economic management team set up to propose solutions to the economic crisis had only recently concluded its assignment but had not passed the recommendations to Mr. Buhari for actions.

But he admitted the team’s recommendations may require “legislative amendments and presidential orders”.

“The Economic Management Team has indeed been considering several policy options and measures to urgently reform and revitalize the economy. Some of these measures may well require legislative amendments and presidential orders that will enable the Executive arm of government move quickly in implementing the economic reform plans,” Mr. Akande said.

“As far as I know, this has not been passed on to the President, the Federal Executive Council or the Legislative arm of government.”

Different news reports had on Monday quoted presidential sources as saying that the Buhari administration was seeking, among other requests, the suspension of extant laws governing some aspects of the economy from the National Assembly.

The government has come under increasing pressure as Nigerians struggle daily with hardship inflicted on them by a raging economic crisis.

Nairobi, Kenya — Having clothes ruined by ink and inhaling chemicals for hours in the hospital darkroom used to bother Margaret Njuwe and other radiographers at East Africa's largest referral hospital in Kenya's capital Nairobi.But when ink runs rendered X-rays unusable or mammograms came out too soft to see suspected lumps, Njuwe's heart would sink as she climbed Kenyatta National Hospital's (KNH) stairs to the radiology department's constantly packed waiting room.

"Patients would wait for hours, and then maybe when you go to the darkroom you have to repeat [the scan] and call the patient back and it might take another day," she said.

Some patients in the 2,000-bed hospital would come back. Others, especially referrals from other centers, would disappear, regardless of how sick they were.

But for the past three months, KNH staff have switched from analogue to digital machines and been able to scan and sometimes diagnose patients within minutes.

"It has reduced those delays. Patients can be referred instantly, because you can take an image, you print it instantly and the patient can take it with them to the referring doctor instantly," said radiographer Clifford Ike.

In total, 98 hospitals in Kenya will benefit from a program being led by the Ministry of Health to modernize core healthcare services at key government facilities across the country. It is the first Government-led program of its kind in Kenya — and one of the largest undertaken to date in Africa to support sustainable healthcare development.

Selected by the Ministry as the technology provider for the radiology modernization tranche of the Kenya mega tender – GE, a committed partner in the development of healthcare in Africa, is providing a comprehensive program that includes the installation of 585 new machines across all 47 counties – and over the next seven years will provide the medical staff using them training and technical support to ensure the optimal operation of the equipment.

After years of studying health models, "without a doubt the ones that have proven to be successful when serving populations is collaboration between the public and private sectors," said Terri Bresenham, CEO of GE Healthcare's Sustainable Healthcare Solutions business.

"As a company what we do know how to do well is set up a structure and capital investment."

GE's plan differs from "this huge capital investment up front and then nothing left for maintenance and for training," she added.

KNH's basement has just some of the many abandoned or broken down machines that litter health centers nationwide as parts or know-how to use them were missing.

The first 44 hospitals to go digital – one of Kenya's healthcare focuses for its 2030 Vision plan – using the new machines increased monthly examinations from 1,500 to over 28,800.

At Mbagathi hospital in downtown Nairobi, staff using one of GE's temporary x-ray machines until their equipment is installed is now doing up to 100 scans a day, almost double what the old machine did.

"They are doing it quickly-just some minutes", said Frida Ngute,  whose baby Agnes has had chest problems for three months.

Mbgaathi Hospital Radiographer Irene Githinji is looking forward to switching from expensive film rolls to digital machines for ultrasound, x-ray and surgery, especially as the hospital is next to Kibera – a slum where millions of people live.

"We are hoping that eventually it will help us make it even cheaper for them," she said.

To ensure quality, standardized and continued training for Kenyan health workers and as part of GE's plan to train 10,000 by 2020, on June 16, GE Healthcare's CEO John Flannery opened its "first dedicated center in Africa for training on technology".

"Demand for quality healthcare is increasing", said Cleopa Mailu, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Health, at the inauguration of the center in Nairobi's Karen neighborhood.

"This dedicated training center will bring people together"

"The GE Healthcare Training Center will play a critical role in supporting the capacity development of biomedical engineers, radiologists and technicians, helping to reduce the skills gap, improve job prospects and build a solid national healthcare system," he added.

"This dedicated training center will bring people together", help build networks of specialists and bridges with health workers in different tiers or sectors of the health care system, said Bresenham.

Many communicable diseases like HIV, malaria and TB are still set up and funded separately, whereas more needs to be done to build "a better, more robust primary care system," said Bresenham.

At KNH's radiology department, where Njuwe scans people who have been in road traffic accidents, people suspected of having pneumonia and surgical patients, the system is already more joined up.

Ike says that the scanners have improved diagnosis times as they are "easier to work with" and have a greater range of exposures.

"People are really appreciating these machines", he said.

Hannah McNeish is a freelance journalist based in East, Central and Southern Africa and wrote this story on assignment for The Pulse.

The Japanese Government, through its agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has donated solar power worth $9.7 million to the Federal Government to boost electricity in the country. The Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Sadanobu Kusaoke, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday during the inauguration of the project.

Kusaoke stated that Japan considered the power sector as one of the most important areas to enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development. “Since from 1970s, Japan has helped to finance power sector to increase the capacity of power in Kainji dam hydro power station. “This is the 10th project of power sector by the Japan’s Government since then and this will not be our last. ”

He said the project which entailed the introduction of clean energy by solar electricity was donated by the government of Japan to boost power and water supply at Usman Dam Water Treatment Plant. “The project is being executed with grant assistance worth Nine Hundred and Eighty Million Japanese YEN (980,000,000 JPY) (equivalent to approximately 9.7 million USD) through JICA, ” he said.

According to Kusaoke, stable power supply is crucial to support industry and to improve economy and the lives of people. The Ambassador emphasised the importance of stable power supply to Nigeria’s quest to diversify her economy.

He commended the designer of the project, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, for its design, management and the completion of the project on schedule. Kusaoke, who explained that the project was capable of generating 1,496MWH, added that this would result in reduction of N31.5 million per year for payment of the electricity bill.

Earlier, Mr Hirotaka Nakamura, Chief Representative of JICA, Nigeria office, said improving core infrastructure including power sector in Nigeria was one of the priority areas of the agency in Nigeria. According to Nakamura, developing alternative energy resources such as solar, wind and hydropower will boost electricity in the country.

He explained that the project was designed to introduce a demonstration unit of solar electricity generation system with a view to increasing its economic strength on a sustainable basis.

According to the JICA official, with the Japanese assistance, about 1.2 mw of grid connected solar generation will be gained at Usman Dam Water Treatment Plant to supplement electricity supply from the national grid.

“Following successful tests on the installed solar system, the first phase of the project with generation capacity of 975kwp is being commissioned today. “The second phase will bring additional 207kwp generation to this system hopefully in January 2017. ”

Nakamura further stated that the project would contribute to the improvement of quality water supply in the Federal Capital Territory. He, therefore, appealed to the FCT administration through its water board to handle the project with care and also provide sufficient funds to maintain the generation system.

In his remark, Alhaji Hudu Bello, the Director, FCT Water Board, who expressed gratitude to the government of Japan and its agency JICA, said the project would improve revenue accruable from the water sector in the FCT. “This is elaborate project that will improve water supply to the residents of Abuja; it will also reduce the rate at which we consume diesel to pump water, ” he said.

Bello said the project would reduce the cost of generating electricity and also contribute power to the national grid to improve supply within the nation’s capital.

The rand broke through the R14/$-level at the close of business in New York, but returned to R13.93/$ on news that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has to report to the Hawks amid the ongoing Sars Wars debacle.

Gordhan’s role as commissioner of the SA Revenue Service when an undercover investigation unit was established is being questioned by the Hawks, who are investigating whether the unit went rogue and performed illegal activities. Some believe these allegations were cooked up as the unit was allegedly sniffing down the wrong Nkandla rabbit hole.

The market sees Gordhan as key to South Africa’s fiscal reform and discipline and his removal from this position will likely raise the possibility of a ratings downgrade to junk status.

“If Gordhan was to go, I think there has to be a very real chance that we will be downgraded in December,” said Umkhulu Consulting’s Adam Phillips. “Maybe they won’t wait to put us out of our misery.

“In the space of three hours all the good work (aided by yield players) has been undone.”

“It was probably a bit like sitting in Utopia with the rand having strengthened more than R2.00 this year,” he told Fin24. “There we were at 17:30 ending off another day of rand strength and along comes the Daily Maverick story.”

The online publication broke news that Gordhan – and a few other former Sars members – had to be at the Hawks offices on Thursday to receive warning letters, a precursor to an official charge.

“I think if Gordhan is guilty of doing anything wrong, I think he would have bailed out of politics long ago,” said Phillips. “It can only be the ongoing spate between the president and the Treasury. It is ironic that President Jacob Zuma has taken over certain SOEs to sort them out and this now comes out.

“I just cannot believe that Gordhan has done anything wrong and Zuma is playing a dangerous game because it is for such a reason that he and his party lost plenty of votes in the local elections.

“The 29th of July was the last time we were at 13.99 and I am sure there are going to be some nervous importers and offshore yield players around on Wednesday and we are not even sure if there is a charge sheet and exactly what Gordhan and other Sars officials have done.

“This news will mean we see nervousness for the rest of the week,” he said.

Phillips said Wednesday’s release of South Africa’s consumer price inflation data that measures inflation will not have an impact on the rand in this context. However, the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement on Friday will be the big mover.

Until then, Phillips said the rand is more or less safe. “SA will be cocooned in its own ‘risk off’ scenario until some facts come out,” he said.

However, he said: “I think we need to get through the next two before we start even looking at Yellen’s speech. The market might not even be told what is really going on, which will just make operators even more nervous.”

A general strike called in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reportedly crippled businesses in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday.

According to the BBC, shops in Kinshasa were closed and streets were mostly empty.

Opposition parties in the central African country demanded that President Joseph Kabila end his rule, as mandated in the constitution.

They feared Kabila wanted to delay elections that are due in November.

Kabila came into power after the assassination of his father in 2001 and, although the constitution stated that a president could only serve for two terms, there have been consistent delays as Kabila clings to power.

Democratic transition

Kabila's government, however, dismissed Tuesday's strike as the work of "radicals having some old fashioned fun".

The strike, according to reports, was most successful in Kinshasa, which has a population of at least 11 million.

Business activities were also slow in Goma, the main trading centre in the east.

The country's Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) announced recently that it could not hold elections this year due to a number of challenges.

The electoral body said that it could only hold the elections sometime in July 2017.

Monday’s official briefing on the Cabinet lekgotla announced that President Jacob Zuma would chair a new presidential state-owned entities (SOE) co-ordinating committee. Expected to be in place by year end, its structure will echo that of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission which Zuma already chairs. This emerged amid the verbal candyfloss from Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe on the four-day government lekgotla which ended on Friday.

This decision effectively means Zuma is taking over from his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, who since December 2014 has chaired the SOE inter-ministerial committee. Is this yet another twist to Cabinet power plays which previously have seen stand-offs with National Treasury?

Like infrastructure, SOEs have long been placed at the heart of government’s economic and transformative policies. But many are deeply troubled. SAA under chairwoman Dudu Myeni, who also chairs the Jacob Zuma Foundation, remains technically insolvent without a R5-billion government guarantee that National Treasury in these tough economic times is reluctant to hand over. Previous guarantees dating back years have not returned the national airline to financial health.

There are issues at Denel, embroiled in controversy over a joint venture with a company with links to the Gupta family and…

Africa has been touted as the new destination for investors. However, the continent still faces a myriad of challenges that hold back its potential, especially efforts aimed at improving business environment and alleviating poverty to ensure sustainable economic growth.

That's why Africa needs leaders who can tackle these challenges and translate them into opportunities to achieve the 'Africa we want' as per the theme of the recently-concluded 27th African Union summit in Kigali.

Supportive policies and infrastructure that promote entrepreneurship and trade on the continent will play a critical role in helping the continent rise from the 'ashes' to achieve the African renaissance dreams proclaimed by the likes of former South African President Thabo Mbeki, experts say.

According to Teddy Kaberuka, an economic analyst in Kigali, infrastructures, including transport, power and information and communication technologies (ICTs) facilities, are instrumental in supporting growth in the global economy. That's the reason why African countries must prioritise infrastructure development to ensure sustainable economic growth on the continent.

"The only way Africa can increase its production and strengthen its economy is by investing heavily in infrastructure development to support the production and ease access to markets and encourage intra-regional trade. Therefore, government must invest more in the energy, ICT and transport sectors because these are enablers of trade and development," he said. "Without enough power, the continent's production capacity will be affected, condemning the continent to rely on European imports."

Kaberuka adds that transport and ICT sector are essential to ensure access to markets by farmers and the industrial sector.

With the majority of the continent's enterprises falling in the category of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), experts call on African leaders to put in place policies and regulations that propel them further and help make them sustainable. The SME sector is the backbone of Africa's economies, employing the majority of the continent's youth and supporting millions of households.

However, the challenge of poor infrastructure and cumbersome border policies must be addressed for intra-country and intra-region trade to flourish. Most African countries are not trading with each other, preferring to trade with Europe and America where they face immense challenges as they largely deal in primary products.

According to AU statistics, improving the continent's infrastructures, like roads, energy and ICTs, can add up to 2 per cent to GDP growth rate per year and also increase productivity by 40 per cent. The World Bank attributed more than half of impressive growth recorded in Africa to infrastructure development on the continent because it offered many countries the required stimulus for growth.

Christian Rwakunda, the Ministry of Infrastructure permanent secretary, said putting in place right infrastructure is key driver for socio-economic development. He says improving transport networks and access to reliable energy and ICTs will reduce the cost of operations and ensure efficient production and service delivery.

"For instance, development of an efficient regional railway transport system would cut the cost of export/import by almost half and reduce the transit significantly. This would open up new opportunities for export and increase regional trade," he notes.

In addition, access to affordable and efficient energy for local industry is essential to grow the sector which is still almost dormant, he adds. Rwakunda says access to affordable power promotes growth of micro-industries allowing more Rwandans and Africans generally to engage in processing of raw materials into finished products and earn more revenue.

He says lack of efficient infrastructure facilities and skilled human resource has led to high costs of investment, while private investments remain low compared to the expectations of developing countries.

"As a result, development and operation costs remain high in Africa. For example, the recent development of the methane gas power project on Kivu Lake required skilled personnel do carry out research. Besides, implementation of infrastructure projects by foreign firms reduces benefits for local populations," he says. The PS notes that such situations are mitigated by knowledge transfer programmes to benefit the host countries.

"To address these issues, Rwanda has put in place an investor-supportive investment policy as well as created an enabling environment. The government also promotes public-private partnerships, especially for key projects and export-oriented investments."

"In addition, technical and vocational education has been given priority to bridge the skills gap in the industrial and other sectors," he says.

He adds that the government encourages local content development at all levels, including human resources, local materials, local partnership or sub-contracting. Rwakunda says the African leaders need to address the key challenges affecting the continent's development through regional frameworks that will help fast-track the implementation of the African Agenda. These efforts are crucial for the realisation of the ambitious continental free trade area (CFTA) initiative that seeks to promote trade with the continent, among others.
 

The CFTA will be made up of over one billion people, with a GDP of $3 trillion. It will also boost trade by 50 per cent among African countries by 2022. The continent's gross domestic product (GDP) is also estimated to rise from $1.7 trillion in 2010 to $2.6 trillion by 2020, while consumer spending will grow from $860 billion to $1.4 trillion over the period.

Already, plans are underway by three regional blocs on the continent to create the largest free trade area on the globe, from the Cape to Cairo. The tripartite free trade area will bring together the East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community into a single new zone. This is envisaged to ease barriers to trade, and stimulate $1 trillion worth of economic activity across the region of more than 600 million people.

However, there is need to support the private sector with improved infrastructure and other facilities and initiatives to enable free movement of people and goods. Easing movement of goods and people is critical in driving the trade and that why the launch of the African e-passport at the Kigali AU summit was a key milestone for the continent that could help in the realisation of this goal. This remarkable step could help drive trade on the continent and spur sustainable socio-economic development.

Some of these efforts could eventually help address most of the challenges hampering business growth across the continent, which will in the long-run contribute to the realisation of the new Africa aspirations, making the African renaissance a reality.